“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
Matthew 25:34-36 NIV

In his Lenten devotional through Matthew, N.T. Wright talks about the need for our faith to be something that happens simply as second nature. Sure, it takes some effort, as he says, ‘in the early stages’ but as we grow and mature in Christ, actively living out our faith, it simply becomes who we are.

Any discipline, when begun, is like this. We must consciously think to stop and pray, or plan our weekly gifts and tithes or be placed on a schedule to serve at church. And as we continue in these things, they become a part of our routine, like a new pair of dress shoes, we stretch and adjust and get creases in the right places that allow us to bend and move more fluidly. The actions become more comfortable, and the actions and attitudes that once took effort eventually take less and less because we develop those spiritual ‘muscles’ that God has been working in us through these disciplined efforts.

So, when we see someone hungry, our first thought isn’t, “Get a job, bub.” but rather, “What can I do to help?” Or when we see someone lost in their path, we don’t say, “Well, that’s your own dumb fault. You made bad choices, so deal with it.” instead we offer compassion in correction through love. We develop a heart like Christ’s, able to see and understand the plight of others, sympathizing with them, and directing them toward Christ through words, service and example. We present them with the truth of God, share His love with them, and aid in correction through that love. So, poor choices are meet with God-honoring advice and counsel. Empty stomachs and dry throats are met with sustenance, and loneliness is met with companionship. Anyone we may have previously looked down on is instead a recipient of our efforts, and our previous avoidance becomes purposeful interaction. It doesn’t happen over night, but eventually it does indeed become second nature.

So, how do we begin loving and living like Christ?
By daily putting Him on, being clothed in Him. We then take up our cross, and walk in His footsteps. We take that initiative that He has planted in us to GoLove others and we allow Him to water and shed light on it through our daily submission to His good will.